Bath's achievement in leading the Premiership has prompted Shaun Berne, their Australian outside-half, to compare the squad to the European Cup winners of 1999. "That squad was packed with star names," he said, "but this squad is more rounded. It has a wider base of quality and much more depth. We are scoring tries, we defend well and don't concede many tries." He is scheduled to start at Sale on Friday after head coach Steve Meehan decided to rest Olly Barkley because of fatigue. Barkley is among the substitutes while Chris Goodman starts at No 8 for Daniel Browne who sustained a head injury last weekend.

Bristol

Luke Eves looks set to make his Premiership debut. The centre, son of former captain Derek, was a member of the England under-20s Grand Slam squad and is now set to be among the substitutes for Sunday's visit to London Irish. His father has played a big part in his rugby career but Eves junior, 18, said: "Obviously, it is great to be connected to a Bristol legend, but now I think it's time for me to start making a name for myself." He is likely to be joined by another up and coming player in back row Ian Grieve as coach Richard Hill starts to experiment having decided that a play off place is now out of reach.

Gloucester

Dean Ryan is a forceful figure and he has tried this week to quash any talk of him playing a part in a new England coaching set up. "I've said a number of times I'm flattered for people to think England is something I'm in the mix with. But there's a lot of things I feel I still need to experience here." A win at Worcester on Saturday would be start after an inconsistent period which has seen Gloucester lose top spot through four defeats in six games. Ryan has also a few things to sort out off field. Iain Balshaw, the England full-back, is out of contract at the end of season and is reported to be open to offers.

Harlequins

A feature of Quins' rise has been the form of their home-grown players. So it was no surprise that four of their academy graduates - prop Alex Rogers, flanker Chris Robshaw, wing Charlie Amesbury and full-back Mike Brown - were among seven players to sign new deals. "It proves that you don't always need to go out and buy in big names," confessed director of rugby Dean Richards. Three other players have also accepted extended contracts in prop Aston Croall, hooker Tani Fuga and lock Ollie Kohn. Quins' form - 23 points in six games - has lifted them into fourth place in the Premiership and they will expect another win this Saturday, at home to struggling Newcastle.

Leeds

Lee Blackett - Leeds' try-scoring hero in the win over Newcastle - is delighted that the pundits continue to write off the Yorkshire team as doomed for relegation. His touch down, in a record 8.2 seconds against Newcastle, helped gain only a second win this season. "We want everyone to write us off - we're happy if that happens but we believe we can survive," the centre said. Leeds head for Saracens this Sunday 10 points behind 11th-placed Worcester. Blackett's try was the quickest recorded in the Premiership, beating the try scored by Tom Voyce four years ago for Wasps in (9.63 secs).

Leicester

The Tigers have landed an outside-half from Argentina but it is not (yet) Juan Martin Hernandez. While talks continue to entice the No 1 Puma stand off from Stade Francais for next season, Ignacio Mieres is expected to arrive at Welford Road this weekend for a trial period. The 20-year-old made his international debut last December and is hopeful that he might land a full-time contract. Leicester are still uncertain when Lewis Moody will return from injury. He was expected to have resumed last week in the win over Wasps, but now accepts he faces at least another two weeks out due to the Achilles' problem picked up in England's game against Wales at the start of February.

London Irish

Increased playing costs are among the reasons for London Irish to have posted a loss of £0.69 million for the last financial year from an improved turnover of £6.43 million compared to £5.83 million. The financial result is better than the previous year when Irish made a £0.92 million loss. Despite the sustained losses, Irish chairman John Conlan is positive about the future saying that "the financial foundations have been secured" and that development plans are going ahead for a new £6 million training and amateur ground in west London to replace the existing facility at Sunbury.

Newcastle

Pressure on at Kingston Park. The Falcons travel to Quins on Saturday trying to avoid a fifth successive defeat which would equal the poor sequence of the 2002-03 season. Steve Bates, the acting head coach, insists the spirit in his squad remains high despite the fall out over the departure of John Fletcher. Leeds may have edged last Friday's match 16-15 but Bates said: "Our first-half showed that our spirit is reasonably good, considering where we have come from in the last two weeks." Jamie Noon misses out on the Quins game due to the shin injury picked up at Leeds, though his England colleagues Jonny Wilkinson, Toby Flood and Mat Tait are in the starting XV.

Sale

Charlie Hodgson believes Sale's experience of winning the Premiership two years ago will prove crucial in this season's title chase. "We have a lot of guys who are used to playing under pressure," he said. Sale are presently in fifth place and the outside-half says they are not reliant on other teams losing. "We have a game in hand on most of our rivals and know that if we perform well, play to our ability and get the wins, then our destiny is in our hands." Sale, having had a week off, welcome back captain Jason White for the visit of Bath on Friday.

Saracens

A training ground injury to Andy Kyriacou forced a disciplinary hearing to be postponed on Wednesday. The hooker damaged a knee at a morning session when in the afternoon he had been expected to give evidence against Seru Rabeni for an alleged gouging incident in the match at Leicester two weeks ago. The hearing will now be held next week after Kyriacou has returned from surgery on his knee. His injury continues a bad week for Saracens following Chris Jack needing an operation on a broken hand sustained in last week's defeat by the Ospreys. He has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Wasps

Wasps remain quiet over speculation that points to Mark Robinson joining them next season. The New Zealander has announced he is leaving Northampton after five successful years and intends to remain in Britain. Wasps have been linked to signing 'Sharky' though Jim Mallinder, Northampton's director of rugby, said a number of clubs had expressed interest. One player heading for New Zealand on a temporary basis is Dave Walder this summer. He has agreed to play for North Harbour in the National Championship and expects to return to Wasps in the autumn.

Worcester

There is no guaranteed place for Rico Gear at Sixways. The New Zealander has recovered from a hamstring strain and a virus but is expected to be on the bench for the visit of Gloucester to Sixways on Saturday. Mike Ruddock, the director of rugby, is expected to keep faith in wings Marcel Garvey and Miles Benjamin. He has challenged his team to deliver a first win over Gloucester in the Premiership. Prop Darren Morris is also available after recovering from concussion but the season looks to be over for scrum-half Ryan Powell, who needs surgery on a knee, and prop Chris Horsman, struggling to recover from shoulder and an Achilles' problem.